Lawyers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa boycotted courts across the province on Wednesday in protest against changes to the procedure for the appointment of civil judges.

The boycott was being observed on the call for a strike given by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council (KPBC).

In a statement, the bar council said the protest was in response to the government’s decision to abolish the requirement of two years’ legal practice for the appointment of civil judges.

Under a revised policy, candidates will be eligible for judicial appointments without prior experience as practising lawyers.

The bar council rejected the move, saying the two-year experience requirement had been introduced after consultations between the KP Bar Council and the Peshawar High Court.

It claimed the government changed the recruitment procedure without consulting either the bar council or the Peshawar High Court.

Lawyers across the province stayed away from courts on Wednesday following the bar council’s call, staging protests against what they described as an arbitrary and flawed decision.

The bar council said removing the experience requirement was wrong and warned that the change could open the door to favouritism and nepotism in the recruitment of civil judges.

“The new procedure has been introduced without due consultation and appears to be aimed at facilitating appointments based on personal preferences rather than merit,” the KP Bar Council said.

The council reiterated its demand for the government to withdraw the changes and restore the two-year legal practice requirement for the appointment of civil judges.